Car roof



March 17, 1936. ,c. 0 BONSALL 1 2,034,378

CAR ROOF Filed June 20, 1955 Patented Mar. 1 7, 1936 CAR R002? Application June 20, 1935, Serial No. 27,525

5 Clas.

This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application for patent for improvement in Car roof Serial No. 659,493 filed March 3, 1933.

The invention consists in the arrangements and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a car roof embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through one-half of the roof on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section longitudinally of the car through a portion of the roof on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a detail View illustrating the seam construction of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, illustrating a modification wherein the welds of the upper panel extend upwardly.

According to the present invention, roof sheets i extend from side plate to side plate and have their ends turned down and secured to the side plates 2. Each roof sheet is offset near the longitudinal middle thereof to form an upper panel 3, a lower panel 4 and a substantially vertical web 5 integral with said panels.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 3 the sheets are all alike but alternate sheets are turned end for end so that the upper panels of adjacent sheets will lie next to each other and so that the lower panels of adjacent sheets will lie next to each other. According to the design of Fig. 3 the margins of the upper panels have downturned flanges 6 which abut flatwise and are secured together by welds 1; and the lower panels have upstanding marginal flanges 8 which abut flatwise and are secured together by welds 9. I prefer to weld the sheets together by arc welding, in which case it is desirable to make the flanges low or narrow so that, when welded together, the welds willbe close to the planes of' the adjacent panels. When heavier sheets are used, the welds may be made of added metal. It is noted that in both cases, the location of the weld close to the plane of the sheets makes the joint rigid as compared with the flexibility incident to'welding the edges of wide flanges.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 3, the flanges 6 of the upper panels extend downwardly and therefore locate the welds underneath the roof. In the construction illustrated in Fig. 5, the flanges ID of the upper panels extend upwardly and. therefore locate the welds ll above (Cl. Nil-5.4)

the roof. This latter arrangement has the advantage of enabling all the welding to be done outside the car and, when welds of added metal are used, such added metal is especially effective in resisting the compression stresses to which the 5 upper panels are subject.

What I claim is:

1. A car roof comprising roof sheets offset near their middle to form upper panels and lower panels, the adjacent panels having low vertical 10 flanges abutting against each other, and having their edge portions welded together, the entire welds being located close to the planes of said panels.

2. A car roof comprising sheets offset near their 5 middle portion to form panels at upper and lower levels, the upper panels having downturned side flanges and the lower panels having upturned side flanges and welds Lmiting together the downturned flanges of adjacent sheets and welds uniting together the upturned flanges of adjacent sheets, said flanges being wide enough for welding by the electric arc method but narrow enough to keep the welds close to the planes of the respective upper and lower panels.

3. A rigid all-metal car roof comprising side plates and heavy-gage roof sheets spanning from side plate to side plate and supported on. and rigidly secured thereto without support therebetween, said sheets being connected together solely by rigid seams that extend transversely of said roof from eaves to eaves thereof, each of said seams comprising upstanding flanges along adjacent margins of said sheets that abut flatwise with their edges substantially flush and rigidly secured together by a weld of added metal that extends continuously of said flush edges from end to end thereof.

4. A rigid all-metal car roof having alternating flat-topped ribs and flat-bottomed channels that extend transversely of said roof from eaves to eaves thereof, said roof comprising side plates and heavy gage roof sheets that span from side plate to side plate without support therebetween and are rigidly connected along their adjacent .margins by capless seams that extend transverseextend transversely of said roof from eaves to eaves thereof, said roof comprising side plates and heavy gage roof sheets that span from side plate to side plate without support therebetween and. are rigidly connected along their adjacent margins by capless seams that extend transversely of said roof from eaves to eaves thereof along the tops of said ribs and along the bottoms of said channels, each of said seams comprising vertical flanges with their edges substantially flush and rigidly secured together by a wel'd of added metal that extends continuously of saidedges from end to end thereof, said sheets being provided with depending eaves flanges that overlap the outer faces of said side plates, and continuous welds of added metal securing the lower edges 01' said flanges to said side plates.

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL. 

